VZCZCXRO1368
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0133/01 0340502
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 030502Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2841
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000133 
 
DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/E 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: SUDANESE WOMEN SET AGENDA FOR PEACE IN DARFUR 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (U) The second African Women's Consultation on Darfur took place 
in Addis Ababa from January 5-7, 2009. The conference was organized 
by Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS), supported by the UK Department 
for International Development (DfID) and the Norwegian Government, 
and led by former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for 
Human Rights Mary Robinson. More than 150 Sudanese women and 
international participants were in attendance, including 
approximately 60 Darfuri political and civil society leaders from 
the Sudanese Women's Forum on Darfur. The Forum was established 
during the first African Women's Consultation on Darfur, which was 
held in Addis in January 2008. USAID/OTI's FSN participated in the 
first consultation, served on the forum's interim steering committee 
in 2008, and attended the most recent meeting. Participants agreed 
that international delegates must lobby the leaders of rebel groups 
in 2009 in order for the initiative's bottom-up efforts to build 
momentum for a genuine peace process to be effective. End summary. 
 
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ENGENDERING THE PEACE PROCESS IN DARFUR 
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¶2.  (U) The FAS initiative aims to advance the Darfur peace process 
by: consolidating the peace agenda through a consultative process; 
strengthening the capacity of Sudanese women to mobilize actors and 
engage in advocacy; building support for the women's peace agenda 
among Sudanese parties to the conflict and the international 
community; and facilitating the participation of Sudanese women in 
future peace negotiations. 
 
¶3.  (U) Recognizing that one of the reasons women are poorly 
represented in peace negotiations is because they lack the capacity 
for effective participation, the FAS initiative conducted a series 
of capacity-building efforts for Sudanese women leaders in 2008, 
including a training on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and key 
UN conventions. Advocacy efforts also enabled members of the 
Sudanese Women's Forum to take part in key regional and 
international fora, such as the 7th Session of the Human Rights 
Council in Geneva in March, 2008. During two solidarity missions to 
Sudan last year, international delegates assessed training needs, 
mapped women's organizations and established a functioning 
secretariat for the Forum. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Sudanese Women's Forum is working to coordinate action 
in Sudan linked to a Darfur peace process; facilitate dialogue 
between various actors; and report to the joint United Nations - 
African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and other relevant 
institutions on issues of concern for women in Darfur. In 2008, 
members of the Forum reached out to women on the ground in each of 
the Darfur states. Darfuri women welcomed the initiative and 
discussions with women and local leaders in camps for internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) revealed an eagerness on the part of 
displaced communities to voice their concerns to the parties of the 
conflict. 
 
 
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2009 AGENDA FOR PEACE 
--------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) For the coming year, participants of the second African 
Women's Consultation on Darfur agreed to continue advocacy work at 
the local, regional and international levels, as well as capacity 
building efforts to effectively mobilize Sudanese women for peace. 
International delegates of the FAS initiative will assume 
responsibility for increasing contact with the leadership of 
Darfur's rebel groups in 2009. 
 
¶6.  (U) Awareness-raising activities addressing issues such as 
violence against women and land rights will continue to be held at 
the Pan-African level, as well as in Khartoum, El Fasher, Geneina 
and Nyala. In addition, advocacy efforts are planned for upcoming 
international fora in New York and Geneva. Preparations will also be 
undertaken in the event that a women's delegation will be able to 
participate in peace negotiations. For example, representatives of 
the Sudanese Women's Forum will have the opportunity to take part in 
coaching sessions that enable them to more effectively participate 
in such negotiations. 
 
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INCLUSIVITY: A STRENGTH AND A WEAKNESS 
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KHARTOUM 00000133  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  (U) The greatest challenge facing the Sudanese Women's Forum on 
Darfur appears to be internal, i.e. originating from its commitment 
to consolidate the Darfur peace agenda through an inclusive 
consultation process. With representatives from the Sudanese 
government, non-signatories and civil society all participating in 
the Forum, consensus is rare. In its annual report, the Khartoum 
Chapter of the Forum noted that a lack of trust continues to 
permeate meetings. Disputes between the Forum's diverse members are 
common, in particular with those who are also members of the 
Sudanese Women's General Union. (Note: The Union is the women's wing 
of the ruling National Congress Party and its leadership believes 
all activities related to women should fall under its umbrella. End 
Note.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Sudanese government's response to the FAS initiative 
has typically been characterized by suspicion. In South Darfur, in 
particular, government authorities from the Sudanese National 
Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) repeatedly obstructed the 
Forum's activities. In March 2008, two of the Forum's members were 
detained by NISS office in Nyala for a total of 12 hours over a 
two-day period, based on allegations that they had received the 
equivalent of $75,000 from the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and 
Consultation (DDDC) to mobilize IDPs to obstruct the population 
census. In reality, the group had received $10,000 from UNAMID-Civil 
Affairs to conduct outreach activities on the peace process with 
women in IDP and host communities. (Note: Examples of continued 
obstruction by the regime are troubling, but the fact that 
participants were able to travel to Addis and other activities have 
gone forward - and that other conferences organized by the DDDC are 
also occurring on a regular basis in Darfur - shows some limited 
progress on the part of the regime. End note.) 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Participants traveling to the conference from West and 
South Darfur states faced harassment from NISS. In Geneina, fifteen 
women and one man were arrested at the airport and detained for 
eight hours before being released. Despite delays and obstacles, all 
invitees were able to reach the conference in Addis, providing 
participants with optimism that progress - however slow - can still 
be made. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶10. (SBU) Success of the initiative's bottom-up efforts to build 
momentum for a genuine peace process will largely be contingent on 
the international delegates' ability to effectively lobby the 
leaders of the rebel groups in 2009. With a likely ICC indictment 
pending against the Sudanese President, there is currently little 
incentive for the rebel groups to engage in a meaningful peace 
process with the Government of Sudan (GoS). However, UNAMID has 
repeatedly expressed both its interest and support for the Forum's 
activities and the input that the Forum can provide to both UNAMID 
Civil Affairs and the DDDC is valuable and may be used to inform the 
contents of a political solution to the Darfur crisis when 
negotiations finally begin in earnest. 
 
FERNANDEZ